Madonna and Elton John Squash Beef After Confrontation at 'SNL'

Madonna and Elton John have finally kissed and made up ... and all it took was her confronting him backstage at "Saturday Night Live."

Madonna says after years of being trashed by Elton in public, she decided she needed to talk to him in person ... and she took advantage of him being in New York City for a musical gig on 'SNL.'

She says she went backstage to confront Elton ... and all the tension died instantly when he saw her and blurted out, "Forgive me." Madonna says Elton's apology made the wall between them fall down, and they hugged.

Elton's calling it a "healing moment."

For years, Elton ripped Madonna in public ... he bashed her theme song for the James Bond movie "Die Another Day," accused her of lip-synching during live performances, and dubbed her a "f****** fairground stripper" ... among other criticisms.

Madonna says it hurt her over the decades knowing Elton disliked her personally and as an artist. She says she went to see him perform back in the day when she was in high school, and credits him with changing her life by helping her understand the transformative power of music ... which made his shots at her all the more painful.